THEN: Victor Cruz and Rashad Jennings were obvious cost-cutting moves that cleared $10 million in cap space. There’s one more move to be made: Cutting linebacker J.T. Thomas, which would open an additional $3 million in cap space. If the Giants get desperate for cap space, they could approach cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie about a contract restructuring that would get him more guaranteed money while lowering his $8.5 million cap hit in 2017.

NOW: Thomas is safe, for now. The linebacker is still rehabbing from a torn ACL, but the Giants were never desperate enough for cap space this offseason to cut him. With a thin linebacking corps, Thomas may survive to play the final season of his contract, but it wouldn't be a surprise if he's forced to take a pay cut for the second consecutive year.

Saed Hindash | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

2. Re-sign JPP

The New York Giants host the Chicago Bears in NFL Week 11 action

THEN: Ideally, the Giants will work out a deal with free agent defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul before March 1 when the deadline to apply the franchise tag passes. Pierre-Paul is the domino that will impact everything else the Giants do this offseason. I wouldn’t break the bank for Pierre-Paul, which is why I’d want to have him locked up before he can hit the open market. Using the franchise tag (approximately $17 million) to buy time to work out an extension is unappealing because that would tie up more than half of the Giants’ cap space. Something in the four-year, $60 million range seems like a fair deal for both sides.

NOW: The Giants were forced to apply the franchise tag to Pierre-Paul, which prevented him from testing the open market. It would have given the team a few more options if they had signed Pierre-Paul before the start of free agency, but the sides were able to work out a deal one week into free agency on March 17. The four-year, $62 million contract was right in line with my expectations.